Great job!!!
Superb write up. Wish I spent more time on mine now 
I must say, I’m jealous of that swim 
. Had the same sort of traffic issues on the bike too but with single riders blocking the overtaking side of the road on fast descents.
And 28’ would have been murder for me on the run. So glad it was less than 15’ with rain.
Well done. Great effort and a beautiful looking medal to go with it 
Thanks! I actually start writing these things in my head during the run. Takes my mind off of the suffering
Is anyone here racing in Chattanooga? I just read that the swim was canceled due to the storm.
Speaking of the storm and its location, if you are doing IM Florida you may want to look for accomidations in Haines City.
Swim cancelled, bike a bit short and run a bit short - apparently. Caught up in the tracker last night. Looks like Laundry went too hard and faded at the halfway point on the run handing it to Long.
Doesn’t sound like the weather was exactly conducive to racing.
New to this thread.
I wondering about whether I would be capable of completing an Ironman next year. The big limitation for me would be time for training. I’m likely to have around 7 hours a week for most of the year and would then hope to carve out 10 for 4 of the final 6 week before tapering for those final 2 weeks of the 6.
Background:
I used to run a lot, not really run for a number of years though.
I’ve been cycling for a few years now and I am happy that I would be able to manage to ride without issue or significant training focus, obviously expecting to spend a lot of time on the bike during training though.
I have completed 2 sprint triathlons with sea swims over the last 2 years.
Potential thoughts:
I’m thinking that I spend the next few months of 2024 continuing mostly with the bike and strength training. Maybe a few swims here and there and the odd run - but nothing structured.
Then 2025, start with 1x60 minute swim, 3-4 hours on the bike (probably something like 45min, 60 and 90-120), then 2 runs a week (starting with 45-60 minutes). Then as the year goes on I maybe need to spend a bit less time on the bike so I can get some longer runs in.
Has anyone else had success of trying to train for such a distance on this limited time? I’m sure many have - but it would really help to understand your experiences, tips and failure points. I’m not certain this is something I want to aim for next year, but it’s on my mind after a friend recently completed one.
Welcome to the thread
Did you enjoy doing the sprints?
I would suggest you plan for an Olympic in the first half of the year and a 70.3 in the second half.
You are unlikely to enjoy a full distance Ironman on 7hrs training, I’m not sure you’ll get to the start line. You can finish a 70.3 though and that may inspire you to find more hours in ‘26 
I can finish a lumpy Ironman on 8hrs a week avg but I’ve got ten years in the bag already.
Thanks @JoeX - really appreciate the honesty here, even if it scrapes at my ego a little
I did enjoy the sprint. I have really enjoyed the swimming. When I started swimming for my first sprint I thought I would be terrible. I’d never swam significantly before but very much enjoyed it. I don’t particularly enjoy the running any more, but hoping I might be able to find a routine that helps me fall in love with it all.
It would be good to try to get an Olympic under my belt and possibly a 70.3 before going for the full distance. I totally understand that, not sure I could afford to join events for those with the ambition of a full IM as well in the same year - but obviously you’re suggesting postponing that feat for the following year.
I’m I’m honest. Part of my desire for 2025 is that I’m turning 40 in August - so completing next year would be incredible. Maybe I will try to sign up for an Olympic early in the season and then decide on the full - if I decide to go for it I could go my own 70.3 between the Olympic and full.
Totally not an expert here. But I think it all depends how good your endurance is for the moment and what you have done in the past years (no matter what endurance sport). If you have a great aerobic base and maybe really gifted as an overal sporter, you can finish an IM next year with 7-8hours a week. But it seems hard.
I think @JoeX advice is the best. I am a bit in the same ballpark as you but my first goal is to do a 70.3 next year (48y then). Before even thinking about a full IM I want 2 or 3 70.3 in my pocket. That marathon in a full IM, wow, i think that is really hard. And with limited time to build some endurance for such an event. Not an easy task, and the question is, will you enjoy that day?
I have 10y of cycling under my belt so for me, a 70.3 I can focus more on swim and run and build this (I used to be soccer player so even running is not new for me). But no idea how a 70.3 half marathon will feel on my legs before I think on doing a full IM 
Thanks - again, all sensible advice. Maybe we can keep track of each other an encourage along our journey’s next year. Sounds like you have a similar background to me.
A fairly big factor for me is that I think I would struggle mentally if I wasn’t as fast as I’d hope to be. I will have to be kind to myself and continue to remind myself that I haven’t done these distances combined before. I do love a challenge though!
I did many long, very hard Granfondo’s on the bike so I also like challenges. And my challenge is now to go for a 70.3 and try to be as good as possible on those 3 sports and combined in one perform as good as my body let me do.
But for a full IM…no way I am thinking for that now. That run, you have to build slowly so…I give myself more then a year time to think about those events ;-).
I will for sure post here in this topic regulary. I even had some kind of swim breakthrough yesterday. Started my swim journey in August (only swam in school). First 400m was 9:40, 2 weeks ago I did 8:46. But something was holding me back. So yesterday I wanted to improve my kick (was uselesse before) so watched some 2 beat kick videos. In the begin of my session, it was horrible. My brain did the opposite of what i needed to do…but suddenly, step by step, it did go better, first right, then also left…and after 30min of swimming…i did 100m in 1:55, 1:56 (before it was always 2:05-2:10). I did a quick 200m test (not even all out) and did it in 3:36. That is 30sec faster then 2 weeks ago when I did my CSS test. I could not believe this??? What a game changer…some puzzle peaces fall together I think? kick, rotation, glide…no idea…but it worked…
Oooh…
I might have to change my answer - I did the same thing. My first Ironman was the day before my 40th birthday!
I’d book the 70.3 for March/April and get on it now. If you come in around 6hrs then book it up.
…How bad is your swim?
I’ve been tempted after watching Ledecky in the Olympics. I’m unclear how you can kick from the hip on a two beat, or at least that’s the struggle I’m having.
It’s almost a 1.5 beat kick for Ledecky. Breaths to her right, As her head come back in she does a powerful left leg kick, but the right leg hardly moves by comparison later in the stroke. Certainly super effective though.
Yeah but I did go from 4.06 to 3.36 after just 30min of focusing towards a 2 beat kick. Almost hard to believe. ( Have to wait my next session for another confirmation ).
Like I said…in begin it was horrible. I did opposite what supposed to be correct. but suddenly…snap. and after checking my garmin. Could not believe it. And I also saw Katie Ledecky’s video. Wonderfull style…
And indeed. It has nothing to do with Force or propulsion. But the correct kick for me…made my rotation, breathing, glide…so much better…I guess…
Hey, it’s time for our monthly roll call: @ashfordneil @ashman07 @Bbt67 @BenSwimsBikesRuns @Benwgoodfellow @Billabong @bretzky @DanF @Evert @Lee_Badrock
Roll call, continued: @mrtopher1980 @Owenbrown @pstalley @snryan74 @teetopmlp @Wayne_Smith @windyyet
Pretty good month for me, and basically the end of my season:
Highlights:
- Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities went about as well as I could have hoped, really nice way to wrap up my triathlon season.
Lowlights:
- I was hoping to settle into the off-season and enjoy some fun outdoor rides before winter arrives, but unfortunately we have a couple pretty big fires nearby and the air quality is terrible. I actually had to cancel my last race of the season, the Jackson Hole Half Marathon, because the AQI was over 200. Zwift season might start earlier than I hoped…
- No more races until May at the earliest and the post-race blues are hitting me pretty hard.
I haven’t entirely decided what to do now. I think I might set up one of the new TR plans until the end of the year and see if I can work on bringing up my FTP a bit, and do some Zwift races along the way, before going back on the triathlon plans in January. I’m not sure yet which races I’ll do; I’ve already signed up for St. George again but there’s a chance I might move to the east coast next year so I may need to transfer. If I don’t move, I might add Coeur d’Alene and Tri-Cities to the calendar as well (and maybe Boise since it’s close, but the date makes me nervous with wildfire season).
@giventotri I live in northern CA. We’ve been lucky with fires and smoke this year. The last few years have been terrible. Nothing like being locked inside to workout during the best part of the year…